Excerpt from the article.
By Amnon Barzilai
A team of IDF officers, known as the `Mexicans,' helped Singapore
establish an army. It was the start of a very special
relationship.
Christmas Eve, 1965, is the unofficial date of the start of the
great and continuing love story between Israel and Singapore, a
love affair that was kept a deep, dark secret. The international
press, like the Israeli media, tried to bring the tale to light.
Occasionally, scraps of information leaked out; some were
published, some were denied, many were disregarded. The Israelis,
as usual, wanted to rush to tell all their friends, but managed to
overcome that desire. The fear that the thies would be terminated
if they became public knowledge had its effect. Israel imposed a
total blackout on the story and the secret was preserved.
Until the other side could no longer contain
itself.
In his book, "From Third World to First: The Singapore Story
1965-2000," published in 2000, Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding
father and its first prime minister, disclosed the secret that had
been kept for almost 40 years: It was the Israel Defense Forces
that established the Singaporean army. The Israeli military mission
was headed by Yaakov (Jack) Elazari, then a colonel, who was later
promoted to brigadier general. After leaving the army, he became a
consultant to the Singaporean army. Hedied 15 years ago. "To
disguise their presence, we called them `Mexicans.' They looked
swarthy enough," Lee wrote.